What I love/hate about micro brands -

I thought it was a ZENITH at first glance!

Which says a lot for its design no doubt.

To be honest the microbrands that do not fail me are ADDIESDIVE and PAGANI DESIGN.

Tell me more about the essence of the watch you are looking for. Give me references for example and what functions do you need in it.

Yes exactly!

I don't know if there's a question or not, but if you think about it, this business practice makes perfect sense.

There's no point for microbrands to have huge production runs, because they can't risk not selling all their watches. They are not multi million companies and can't just have a few thousands of watches sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

I just sent this to Brew...

"I recently came across some images and then watched some videos featuring your Metrograph watches. I fell in love with the design, retro notes but modern, chrono but not racer or astronaut, as I said, I feel for it. Only to learn that you don't currently catalog them.

Can I hope for another run of them or have you moved on never to return to that particular Sunday morning cappaccino moment of design?"

I'm trying to put together a very small collection of watches and this one just spoke to me on a number of fronts touched on above.

OMG this one looks awesome. Love Brews!

I do believe that manufacturers nowadays are moving away from that sense you (and I) are looking for.

But who knows? These brands, #addiesdive and #paganidesign are reissuing larger brands’ sought after watch designs. PAGANI DESIGN released a piece that nods to the era we are talking about, the PD1782. But that’s a straight up racer watch 😅

I’ll keep it in mind and let you know what I came across.

By the way what do you think of the TIMEX Q Chronograph? It is not exactly what you are looking for but the ivory dial really brings me to those days.

That's your best bet, demonstrate that there is a demand and they may do a new release.

That said, things have gotten a lot more expensive over the last couple of years, so the business case for that model may no longer exist. Most brands figure out what the max price customers will pay for their product is, and make a determination as to whether or not it's worth the effort of making and selling a model.

CW has dropped multiple lines/models over the years because they were no longer cost effective to make, or they didn't sell well enough. I suspect that is why Brew dropped that model, either it was too expensive to make and priced them out of their market, and/or it didn't sell well enough.

That Brew retro chronograph is a STUNNER! Please keep us posted of their reply to your queries ... I'd like to see 'em re-issue this one!

Love the look but the integrated look lugs leave me a little flat. Prior to coming across this I was leaning toward just buying a Seiko black dial solar chrono in the smaller size.

I was just reading that Christopher Ward will do a run of "bespoke" watches to spec for as few as 25 pieces. They're about double what this sold for but maybe Brew, which is a very small company, would do a WatchCrunch short run for all of us...then we'd just have to agree on the specs, ;).

"He who hesitates is lost"

"Make hay while the sun shines"

If you’re still lusting for the mastergraph check out this LIV DDC Panda. Checks the sporty box.

Micros typically change their designs more than the big players do. They have a much smaller audience than the big players do through ADs and distribution networks, so keeping the designs fresh keeps the smaller audience buying their watches.

It is an old Rolex Submariner reference that was manufactured in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

I think it also comes down to micro-brands being able to quickly pivot to new designs and styles. I don't think you can fault them for not continuing to produce an older model that perhaps didn't sell well, or was intentionally done at a limited scale. There's all sorts of reasons for doing that. And some people love it, they love the exclusivity and buying something only available for a limited time and quantity. Christopher Ward is a good example of a brand with discontinued models, trying out many many designs, and now they have a look that is consistent through their references and consistently stocked. Sinn, while not a microbrand, has a dizzying number of special editions and region only models, some that I would love to own. But their 104 has been around for decades in some form. I'd recommend looking on eBay and Chrono24, sometime you can be luck and find these old models. Otherwise, just keep looking for something that is similar and meets the spec you're looking for. I've found even better watches that way.

It's all part of the experience.

If you really want one, there's always the secondhand market. Admittedly, it will be a bit needle in the haystack finding one.

But imagine the feeling when you DO find & buy it? Might be one of the best highs one can legally experience.

Anyone can pull up the Omega website & buy a Moonwatch or an SMP in mere minutes. Not everyone will have the desire, dedication & fortitude to find their Grail from among a limited pool of a sold out model from Brew or Straton Watches or the like.

And now imagine the story that can be added to that watch when it is acquired.

IMO PD and AD would not fit the microbrand definition. They are both mass producers of watches. I see a microbrand as a small operation. Brew fits this category, whereas the likes of CW have probably moved to the independent category.

Let us know what they come back with on this. I was in the same situation with the Brellum I just ordered. I wanted the blue dial version of the DuoBox, which they no longer offer, only black on the steel bracelet. I contacted them and they still had a blue dial, and there were very willing to build it for me. Can't hurt to ask.

Its very brand dependant. Some models do stop getting produced, same with large brands (looking at you seiko) plus limited designs are also a thing

What really annoys me is when the brand is all limited by design like zelos. Instant turn off imo

i have the Addiesdive AD2029 and im totally blown away by how good that watch is. Stunning for the price tbh

Yeah man exactly! My 3rd one is on its way I can’t wait!

im considering also buying one of their watches with the vh31 movement! sweeping quartz!

Yeah! The dunes dial one?

not yet sure, but the AD2033 looks SUPER nice tbh

Not really my taste to be homest but from my experience with ADDIESDIVE you will enjoy it for sure.

The one on it’s way is the Pilot MY-H2

Clean design tbh!

Many micro brands have to rely on others to make their watches. With that comes a spot in a production cycle, so it is not always as easy as waiting for more, because the brand may want to do something else.

Some brands may want to go back and make more of a previous edition, some may feel it was not successful enough to do another run. IE, they made 100 of them but it took months to sell, holding up valuable capital.

It is really tricky, but as @Wes_nodus said, it’s not just limited to the micro space.

It's part of the experience. They are trying to stay relevant and evolve. They generally don't have the capital to keep producing older models whilst also trying to stay fresh and innovative.